Ainsley Walters, talented Artist & Illustrator of
'Side by Side - In the Beginning'
Biography
Ainsley was born in Melbourne in March 1984, but from a young age spent several years living in Queensland and the South Pacific.
During this time, Ainsley developed a love of travel and adventure and the beautiful people and bright colours of the tropics inspired her to paint.
Ainsley has studied a Bachelor of Science at Monash University in the field of Environmental Science and Marine Biology. Over the course of her study, Ainsley was part of a research project in the jungles of Malaya.
She remembers before they got started, one staff member at the research station said to them "Stay in groups, tigers are less likely to attack a group." Ainsley worked with inspiring people who dedicate their entire lives trying to save rainforest species. “It’s really admirable,” says Ainsley.
Ainsley has been studying the Indonesian language for 12 years and loves Balinese culture and food.
Ainsley she has travelled to many amazing places around the world and has gained an immense appreciation towards the unique beauty and culture of each place.
Upon her return, she developed a huge appreciation for her hometown of Melbourne and has fallen in love with its culture, architecture and history.
Ainsley’s love of Melbourne's heritage buildings is reflected in some of the paintings in 'Side by Side- In the beginning', which is the first children's book she has illustrated. Working on this project has combined three great loves: art, history and footy.
Ainsley and her beautiful artwork at the book launch of 'Side by Side - In the Beginning' at Collingwood Football Club, Westpac Lounge
Q&A
1. How did you go about painting the artwork for 'Side by Side - In the Beginning' and what sort of materials did you use?
I was fortunate enough to have many references to help me paint the illustrations for 'Side by Side – In the Beginning', thanks to Neridah.
Many beautiful old books and photographs of Collingwood footballs players, supporters, Victoria Park etc, were a huge help in re-creating the Collingwood of 1916.
Before I began any of the images, I surrounded myself with as much Collingwood Football Club memorabilia as possible in order to feel inspired by the clubs celebrated history and passionate spirit.
I’m a Richmond supporter at heart so it didn’t come naturally to me at first. Now, however, I’m feelin’ the Collingwood spirit one hundred per cent!
When it came to technique in my artwork, in most cases I worked out the image design on paper before transferring it to an illustration board. Once the image was sketched on board, I used gouache to paint my illustrations.
2. Describe the journey you went on to complete this project and how do you feel about the finished book?
This was my first time illustrating a children’s book so I feel very grateful to have been involved in this project.
It combines my three great loves: Art, Footy and History (especially Melbourne’s rich history).
Learning about the history of the Collingwood Football Club, as well as the history of the suburb was fascinating and allowed me to understand why Collingwood supporters are so passionate about their club.
This awareness in combination with Neridah’s beautiful story was an inspiring platform for me to begin this exciting project.
I spent a great deal of time researching other children’s books and discovered many amazing artists that became great inspirations for me.
For my birthday this year my mum bought me a book called The Art of Graeme Base by Julie Watts, which I’m just in awe of.
I love the detail and colour that he uses in his illustrations. Other inspirations include Walt Disney and some of his background artists like Eyvind Earle, Mary Blair and Hans Bacher.
Books by Colin Thompson and Shaun Tan (which were first shown to me by my boyfriends mum), are also great inspirations.
Once I was feeling inspired I began to take photos in and around Turner Street and Victoria Park. Taking note of the finer details of the area helped me to re-create Collingwood as accurately as possible.
I really love all the elements that make up the old Victorian Terrace areas of inner city Melbourne: the old brick walls, corrugated tin rooftops, the Victorian fretwork, old wooden fences, and the blue-cobblestone laneways. Even when I was wandering around Victoria Park. I noticed that there were quite a few magpies dwelling in the area. I think they must have known what I was doing!
I live in this area so I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by all these elements that hold so much history. For the first image I needed to paint an old tin roof so I was like, "ok, I’ll just look out my back window" and voila!
Although these areas look similar to what they would have looked like in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, old photographs of Turner Street and Victoria Park helped to understand the feel of the time. They also showed some of the beautiful old architecture around Victoria Park, such as the 1910 grandstand and the old school which sadly no longer stands today.
The lovely people at Collingwood Football Club Archives who know Victoria Park very well advised me of where these buildings were situated around the ground in relation to Turner Street.
My mum was a great help in reviewing my artwork once it was completed. After I had finished painting the 1910 grandstand she said “I think you need to go a bit darker on the wood. Federation wood was more of a grey/brown.” I love these sorts of details in my artwork while also trying to convey an overall feeling which relates to the text.
I had lots of fun illustrating 'Side by Side – In the Beginning' and am very excited about the final product. I am very delighted with it and look forward to continuing the journey.